Chapter 294

CHAPTER 294

The curse of Kabalon’s average.

The black towers of a world that can no longer endure and collapses.

And as sinkholes kept increasing, tower monster waves erupted.

I thought there was no hope.

Even defending against waves was difficult, Kabalon wouldn’t die, and reaching an average climb progress of 70 floors was impossible.

The world was going to be destroyed.

It was already decided.

But then, a reversal occurred.

It began in the Republic of Korea.

A player who claimed to have come from Earth No. 1001 of a parallel universe.

He began climbing the tower on this Earth called No. 843.

He supplied holy weapons and split golems in preparation for the Dark Wave, killed Kabalon, filled sinkholes through the 90th-floor event, and ultimately achieved the feat of a complete conquest of the 100th floor.

All of this happened within a single month.

Can you believe it?

Is it even possible?

And now.

Sweet world announcements rang out one after another.

Collapse deadline deleted.

Starting with Korea.

[World Announcement: The collapse deadline of the Black Tower in the United Arab Emirates on Earth No. 843 has been deleted. Even if the conquest deadline is exceeded, the tower will not collapse.]

The United Arab Emirates, offering trait enhancement runes for the first time.

[World Announcement: The collapse deadline of the Black Tower in the United States on Earth No. 843 has been deleted … ]

The United States, the home country of Lumitri.

[World Announcement: The collapse deadline of the Black Tower in France on Earth No. 843 has been deleted ….. ]

They rang incessantly.

At the same time, every time a country’s name was called in a world announcement, its citizens cheered and shouted hurrah.

The end of the Black Tower threat.

How could anyone not be happy?

But there were countries that couldn’t smile.

China and Japan.

The State Council in Beijing, China.

Chairman Liang Fei and the Standing Committee members quietly held their breath, waiting for China’s name to be called.

Deleting the collapse deadline.

At first, it was hard to believe.

But when they checked the climbing progress of the countries whose names were called first, it really was deleted.

[Location]: Black Tower of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

[Completed]: 55th floor

[In Progress]: 56th floor

[Deadline]: Indefinite

Like this.

“Damn it! Are they really going to go all the way ….”

Was China’s name not going to be called?

“Hoo… We must consider the possibility that China could be excluded.”

“There’s no way they’d go that far.”

“They have justification. Other countries will probably side with those bastards too.”

The popularity and fame of the top player in the parallel universes were soaring to the heavens.

Once the collapse deadline deletion work was finished, his stature would shoot up into the cosmos.

In a situation like this, who would take China’s side?

“How did China end up like this….”

“Nothing’s been decided yet, so let’s keep waiting.”

However, even until the very end, China’s name never appeared.

Nor Japan’s.

“Those dog bastards! How dare they be so arrogant.”

In truth, they knew it too.

All they had to do was keep their promise.

But they demanded Gando and Mount Baekdu.

How dare those small-country bastards!

“… What is our current tower climbing progress?”

“In two days, we will enter the 70th floor.”

“Can we clear it?”

“Easily. We have holy weapons. Mining of high-grade magic crystals will also start in two days.”

Currently, countries around the world were climbing rapidly at the pace of one floor per day.

The goal was clearing the 70th floor.

Clearing the 70th floor became mandatory.

Because they had to break through the high-grade magic crystal rewards.

The problem was after the 70th floor.

In China’s case, since the collapse deadline had not been deleted, they would need to clear the 71st floor to accumulate time.

“Is 71 floors or higher possible? What appears there? Do we have information?”

“Please look at this. It’s an SNS post uploaded by the Lumitri player.”

“Lumitri? That guy?”

“Yes. The instigator of the curse of the average.”

A video he uploaded claiming he had cleared the 71st floor.

Three large monsters appeared at once.

Their name: Large Magical Beast, Giant Mountain Bear.

Huge.

Enormous.

So much so that you couldn’t even get close.

One misstep and you’d be crushed to death.

“… Yet he cleared it. How?”

“With an item called a magic gun.”

Magic gun.

An item they had never heard of before.

“Lumitri stated that he received it from a parallel universe player. He said that without it, it would be absolutely impossible to kill them.”

“……”

To summarize.

China also had to rapidly climb up to the 70th floor for the sake of high-grade magic crystals.

The conquest would proceed smoothly.

But the 71st floor?

Impossible with China’s power alone.

They could receive help from the parallel universe player, but would he help them?

Their name wasn’t even on the collapse deadline deletion list.

If they fail to climb and exceed the deadline, the towers will collapse.

Three Chinese towers, that is.

What about other countries?

They had nothing to worry about.

Upper-floor climbing was optional.

They only needed to break through to the 70th floor; after that, they could climb higher or not.

There would be no collapse.

“… Prepare to release a statement immediately!”

They couldn’t stay still.

Thus, Chairman Liang Fei personally appeared before the media.

With a deeply indignant expression and tone.

“In the end, China’s Black Towers have been excluded from the collapse deadline deletion. This is an action that ignores the grand cause of world peace. What on earth did we do wrong to deserve this? Don’t you pity the innocent people of China?”

“We issue a grave warning. If China’s Black Towers exceed the deadline and collapse, all responsibility will lie with Korea and the parallel universe player. China will not stand idly by.”

“Furthermore, we earnestly appeal to the international community. Borders may differ, but we share one continent. The collapse of China’s towers will have negative effects on the entire world. Please, we beg you—prevent the collapse of the towers.”

Chairman Liang Fei’s appeal.

A mixture of threats and pleas.

Japan did not stay quiet either.

Prime Minister Kurokawa also appeared before the media.

The content was no different from China’s.

“… We acknowledge the merit of filling sinkholes and completely conquering the tower. However, if blinded by excessive greed and peace is ignored, the originally good intentions may become distorted.”

“There are many Koreans living in Osaka, where a Black Tower stands. A tower collapse must never happen. Please, we beg you to prevent it.”

The common point between China and Japan.

They did not even mention Mount Baekdu, Gando, or Tsushima.

When asking for support with holy weapons and golems, they acted as if they would give up their liver and gallbladder.

Now they call it excessive greed.

They ask what they did wrong.

It was truly absurd.

*米*

White Tower, 6th floor.

Guigok Sage, who entered with a residence permit granted by Juhyeok.

A guest had arrived, so all the summoned gathered.

As always, a feast broke out.

At first, the atmosphere was awkward.

Wasn’t he a sage?

Not someone easy to approach.

But as time passed, the situation changed.

Guigok Sage, enjoying top-tier popularity.

In truth, the Sword Immortal was frightening.

An immortal of the sword (principle), overflowing with unapproachable dignity and sharp sword intent.

What about the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?

There was fear there as well.

Half-demon, half-Buddha—a demon and a Buddha.

Honse was the same.

A demon king, after all.

Even his appearance was like that.

In contrast, Guigok’s very impression was gentle.

Like a mountain spirit from a traditional folktale.

But more than anything, what made him the most popular was—

“Lord Guigok, th-this is? You’re giving this to us?”

“Deputy Commander Veronica Caliber! Thank you for the meal.”

“Are all the immortal peaches soft peaches? Don’t you have firm ones?”

“A warrior doesn’t discriminate between soft and firm.”

“Ho-eh!”

Guigok Sage pulled out immortal peaches from his infinite space and scattered them freely.

Every time he met someone, he casually took one out and placed it in their hand.

“What’s so special about something like this? Isn’t there an immortal peach tree on the 17th floor of the White Tower?”

“Hehehe, there’s only one tree. That’s why it’s precious. Not just anyone can eat it.”

“Then this is a good opportunity for everyone to eat one.”

“Ah, your generosity is immense. You’re truly a great man.”

“I’ve heard that so often I’ve become numb to it… but still, it feels good. Hahaha!”

“Ah, I knew it. You’re a sage among sages. Hehehe!”

And to the blacksmiths—

“This metal ingot is called Black Abyss Iron. It’s produced in a hell called the Netherworld. The quality is excellent. It also has the effect of repelling impure things.”

He poured out Netherworld hell metals as well.

To dwarf blacksmiths, a new metal meant—

Something more valuable than any gold or treasure.

Faces that looked like they were about to die from happiness.

Someone had already gone to the Comprehensive Crafting Center and started hammering away at black dark-iron ingots.
Someone even said,

“Is there an alchemist here? Or at least someone from a pharmaceutical company?”

Of course there is.

Why wouldn’t there be?
Let’s just take the elevator up to the 17th floor and bring Mari down.

“Oh! An excellent alchemist. I can tell just from the scent of medicinal herbs coming off you—and from your hands.”

Our Mari?
She’s the best alchemist I’ve ever seen.

“Here, this is a flower that comes from a place called the Heavenly Realm. It’s so potent it could chew up most herbs for breakfast.”

He handed the Heavenly Realm’s medicinal flower to Mari.

“…U-um, th-they’re… really nice flowers.”

Living together with the World Tree had eased her shyness quite a bit, but talking to strangers was still a little difficult for her.

Still, she seemed to like the medicinal flowers.
She sniffed them, plucked petals and chewed on them.

“The CEO of a pharmaceutical company I know made a fortune with these.”

Guigok generously poured out the items stored in his infinite space.
All kinds of things came spilling out.

In truth, he had another motive.

Who was Bong Daehyeop, anyway?

Wasn’t he the man who even sent gourdfuls of gifts to the insignificant demon king Honse?
Of course he’d do the same for him.

And if that was the case?

First, he needed to completely empty out the items he’d stored in his infinite space.
That way, he could receive even more in return.

Meanwhile, Juhyeok was deeply moved.
He had been planning to give gifts, yet he ended up receiving them instead.

Ah…
Immortal peaches, black dark-iron ingots, Heavenly Realm medicinal flowers.

If converted into money?
He didn’t even dare try to calculate it.

How should he repay this kindness?

Something ordinary wouldn’t do.
He had to give the finest gift possible.

First, the best luxury goods produced on Earth No. 843.
Then, from Earth No. 1001—his own Earth—the very finest as well.

The two worlds were similar, yet different.
You could say the differences lay in the details.

First, let’s head outside.
He needed to ask Commander Jeon Seong-il to secure the items.

Juhyeok had plenty of money.

How much had he earned from selling holy weapons and golems?
Spending it all wouldn’t feel like a waste at all.

At the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters,
Juhyeok met with Martial Law Commander Jeon Seong-il.

He got straight to the point.
He wanted to buy the highest-spec industrial products currently produced in the world.

Top-tier watches, liquor, clothing, shoes, accessories, processed foods, electronics—
In short, things that were not easy to obtain.

As quickly as possible.
As soon as they were secured, he asked that they be sent to the White Tower via the logistics warp gate.

“Yes, we’ll carefully select and prepare them.”
“Please do. Money is no object.”
“Oh! There’s something I need to tell you.”

Jeon Seong-il turned on the TV mounted on the office wall with a remote.

“We’ve received responses from China and Japan.”
“Ah!”

Before entering the 100th-floor control room, Jeon Seong-il had made a separate request.

When acquiring administrative authority and deleting the Black Tower collapse deadlines,
he asked that China and Japan be excluded.

Juhyeok had agreed.
It was a request from their own side, after all.
The deletion work could be done slowly.

And now, on the TV, emergency recorded statements from the Chinese president and the Japanese prime minister of Earth No. 843 were playing.

The content was essentially the same.
For world peace, the towers must not collapse.

“Looks like they’re going with the ‘world peace’ angle.”
“That’s what they say. But it’s closer to a threat.”

World peace.
In a way, it was persuasive.

With sinkholes being filled through the 90th-floor conquest event,
no country—foreign or otherwise—would want new holes opening up.

“What’s most disgusting is that they didn’t say a single word about keeping their promises.”

Bastards.

They demand things, give nothing in return, deceive people with promises they won’t keep,
and on top of that, resort to hollow threats.

“All right. Let’s give them what they want.”
“…Pardon?”
“We should grant their wish.”
“Ah!”

It’s like making a wish to a devil.
The wish comes true—but the result appears in a completely different way.

For example, if someone asks the devil,
‘Please make me the richest person in the world.’

That person might be sent to a world where no one else exists.
They’d still be the richest person in the world, after all—
because they’d be the only human left.

This case was similar.
The wish would be granted, but the outcome would be entirely different.

The worry about tower collapses disappeared.
The undead zones became easier.

Clear the 70th floor and you get high-grade magic stones.
They drop on every floor.
You even receive rewards in the teens.

Countries around the world rapidly cleared the 70th floor.
With the help of holy weapons, China and Japan also began receiving high-grade magic stones.

A new resource.
High-grade magic stones—room-temperature superconductors and energy sources in themselves.
Thus began a new industrial revolution.

And that wasn’t all.
Although climbing higher wasn’t necessary, plans were announced to sell magic rifles to countries that wished to ascend beyond the 71st floor.

Amid all this,
Jeon Seong-il announced yet another press conference at the Joint Chiefs briefing room.
Domestic and foreign reporters gathered together.

The topic?
An official response to China and Japan’s protest statements.

This time, Chinese and Japanese reporters were present as well.
It concerned them, after all.

Standing at the podium, Jeon Seong-il spoke in a somewhat heavy tone.

“For the peace of the world, we have decided to accept the demands of China and Japan.”

He continued his statement before the cameras.

“From now on, there will never again be a tower collapse in China or Japan. The Parallel World Player has agreed as well.”

Sighs rose from one side,
while cheers erupted from the other.

A Korean reporter, the one sighing, asked,

“Then what about the promises? The territorial concession agreement?”
“Well, I suppose that’s off the table.”
“Isn’t this humiliating? We gave everything, and what did we get in return—”
“There’s nothing we can do. They said they won’t keep their promise.”

Then a Chinese reporter spoke up.

“A wise decision. For world peace, this is only right.”
“Yes, peace is the most important thing.”
“Then do you intend to apologize for your unreasonable demands?”
“Unreasonable demands?”
“The demand for Mount Baekdu and Gando. That was excessively greedy.”
“Hm… well, we apologize.”

The people gathered tilted their heads in confusion.
Why was Commander Jeon Seong-il being so submissive?
An apology, no less.

This emboldened the Japanese reporter as well.

“First, I’d like to commend Korea’s magnanimous decision.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Tsushima Island is inherently Japanese territory. Do you acknowledge this?”
“Well, yes.”
“Japan also felt betrayed by Korea’s absurd demands. Our citizens were deeply disappointed by Korea’s attitude.”
“Ah, my apologies.”

What is he doing, really?
Jeon Seong-il was famous for being a nationalist.
Was he trying to sell out the country?

The excited Japanese reporter went even further.

“At this opportunity, we believe it’s necessary to revisit the Takeshima issue as well. For a long time, the Korean government has illegally occupied Takeshima—”

That was when it happened.

Ding!
A notification sound rang out.
It was heard by civilians and players alike.

A world announcement?
What could it be?

Ah!
The deletion of the Black Tower collapse deadlines for China and Japan, of course.

The Chinese and Japanese reporters were grinning ear to ear.
Finally, we too—

[World Announcement: All three Black Towers in China have been dismantled.]

“…What?”

Dismantled?

[World Announcement: China is now completely free from the threat of Black Tower collapse.]

“…Huh?”
“No, wait, what?”

[World Announcement: Accordingly, the nationalities of all players affiliated with China’s Black Towers have been revoked.]

[World Announcement: They must acquire a new nationality within 30 days.]

[World Announcement: Failure to do so will result in the loss of player status.]

Silence filled the press room.
They understood what the announcement meant.

But… it really happened?

Then another—

Ding!

[World Announcement: Japan’s Black Tower has been dismantled.]

The contents were the same.

The nationalities of players affiliated with Japan’s Black Tower were revoked.

Jeon Seong-il spoke with the brightest smile he’d shown all day.

“We sincerely congratulate China and Japan on the deletion of their towers. You no longer need to worry about tower collapses.”

Collapse or not—the towers were gone altogether.
Though a minor(?) issue remained: the halt in high-grade magic stone mining.